News & Impact

Stay updated with JFCS activities in the community.

Upon receiving the news that he had been chosen to receive a scholarship by JFCS’ Financial Aid Center, Avery Cruz was at a total loss for words. But his mother, Deborah, was able to find some, saying, “You have no idea what this means! I was so worried about how we were going to afford college next year.”
Avery and Viviane Lorvan, the two recipients of this year’s Vivienne S. Camp Scholarship, awarded annually, embody the most admirable aspects of the next generation of the Jewish community. Their resilience against adversity, coupled with their commitment to academic growth, made them… Read More

JFCS’ Financial Aid Center and YouthFirst are joining forces to help high school students and their parents start thinking about financing college in this simultaneous two-track workshop!
TEEN TRACK
A diverse panel of Bay Area college students discuss how they chose their school and how they are paying for college. A Q/A period will follow to answer teens’ specific questions about their college choice such as location, course study, state versus private, financing, work-study, and more.
PARENT TRACK
Before your college-bound teen applies to schools the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form needs to be accurately submitted. Parents… Read More

The Press Democrat

By Meg McConahey

FAUX FLAMES MAY BE A GOOD IDEA FOR THE FIRE-TRAUMATIZED THIS YEAR

It’s the season of soft light, when candles are flickering and hearth fires roaring. But in the aftermath of October’s firestorms, which destroyed thousands of homes in Sonoma County and shrouded the air with heavy smoke for days, many people may find themselves looking warily at those flames that used to symbolize cozy comfort and peace.

“Fire has been one of those things that keeps us warm and has always had positive memories,” said Diana Klein, director of the Sonoma County Regional service for Jewish Family Childrens Services. “But as the holiday season of fire-lit nights at home swings into high gear, people may have a new relationship around fire.”

For the past decade JFCS’ Child Training Institute (CTI) has served as an international resource and training center for mental health professionals who treat children who are dealing with emotional, psychological, and developmental challenges, as well as those who have experienced trauma. The institute has trained over a thousand mental health professionals, helping countless children and families heal and thrive.Trauma can result from a variety of experiences: chronic exposure to violence, the loss of a parent, a natural disaster, or a terrorist act. JFCS’ long history of expertise in trauma treatment includes helping Holocaust survivors, refugees, children living in… Read More

Twelve years ago, JFCS Executive Director, Dr. Anita Friedman, visited her father’s ancestral village in the Polish countryside. Since then she has returned to Gniewoszow multiple times and joins thousands of Jews who have traveled to Poland since the fall of communism. Friedman has built relationships with the local community and helped rededicate its Jewish cemetery as she grapples with her family’s lost homeland. She is also teaching teens in the Bay Area about this important history.

JFCS Executive Director, Dr. Anita Friedman, teaching teens from JFCS’ summer internship program about her family’s lost homeland in Poland.

JFCS is the leader in Holocaust education in Northern California, and thousands of students each year learn about the Holocaust and other genocides through the JFCS Holocaust Center.

Additionally, teens who participate in JFCS’ YouthFirst program also receive Holocaust education. Friedman recently taught teens participating in the YouthFirst summer internships about her family’s history in Gniewoszow, Poland.

The summer interns first had the chance to think about how their families’ traditions have shaped who they are as people, and then Friedman shared her family’s experiences during the Holocaust and her powerful story about returning to Gniewoszow. The students were able to see very clearly that her family history has directly informed her core values.